Oilfield operators drill wellbores to access subterranean reservoirs. Often they desire to characterize the formations that are penetrated by the wellbores. For example, such characterization facilitates estimation of the amount and accessibility of hydrocarbons in reservoir rocks. However, it can be difficult to perform such characterization, particularly when it is infeasible to insert appropriate tools in the wellbore and/or to obtain core samples.
It would be desirable to characterize the penetrated formations based on the rock fragments obtained from the drilling process itself. Such a process preferably would overcome certain obstacles, e.g., the fragments are necessarily much smaller than core samples, only statistically associated with given wellbore intervals, and subject to contamination by the drilling fluid used to flush them from the wellbore.
It should be understood that the drawings and corresponding detailed description do not limit the disclosure, but on the contrary, they provide the foundation for understanding all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.